When Pigs Fly
by pandorabox82
Summary: Emily thinks she's going crazy, hearing her cat talk to her. But still, she takes his advice and heads back to Quantico to find out just where she stands with Derek Morgan. Will she get the answer that she wants?


Emily sighed as she flopped back on her bed. She had been living in London now for a year and a half, and she was suddenly being hit with a wave homesickness. It was absolutely ridiculous, she had nothing there to go back to, but still, she missed Derek immensely. "Like he would ever talk to me again, given the way that I treated him when I left the States behind."

Turning onto her side, she reached out for her cat. Sergio had been her faithful companion, and she smiled as she petted his silky fur. "You know, you could just go over and surprise him. Tell him how you really feel, tell him how much you miss him. In the long run, what would it hurt?"

She stiffened in shock as she frowned at Sergio. "I must be going crazy," she murmured to herself, shaking her head slightly as she continued to stare at her pet.

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm telling you what you really need to hear." She could hear him speak, yet his mouth didn't move, and Emily really began to feel like she was descending into madness. "You have vacation time built up. Take it, head home, and tell Derek that you love him."

Emily closed her eyes and turned back onto her back, trying to shut out the rapid, disparate thoughts that were now crowding her brain. "I'm going to go to sleep now and when I wake up, none of this will have happened," she declared.

"Ignoring things is not the way to handle your life."

"Suddenly, you're my voice of reason. My own personal Jiminy Cricket. How lucky I am. Fine, I'll tell Clyde that I'm going to take some vacation time, and then I'm going home to settle things, once and for all."

"Very good, my work here is done."

Sighing, she turned to face the wall and fell asleep, thinking about what would happen in the next few days. Nothing could top the insanity of thinking her cat had talked to her, pressing her forward into making a concrete decision in her life.

In the morning, she woke up to find that Sergio was nowhere to be found and for that, she was grateful. Emily wasn't certain if she could handle having the hallucination follow her into her waking life. Hurriedly, she called her boss and waited for him to pick up. "Good morning, Emily. What can I do for you?"

"I need to take some of my vacation time. Just two weeks. I want to head back to Quantico, see how they're doing, after the Replicator wreaked his havoc."

"And I suppose that you want to start that time now?" he asked drolly and she smiled, knowing that he was going to capitulate. "I suppose I could agree to that, as long as you promise me one little thing."

"And what would that be, Clyde?"

"That you come back. I do not want to lose you to the States once more."

Emily laughed a little at the thought. "You don't have to worry about that, Clyde. All this trip will be about is tying up the loose ends of my life that I left there. I am perfectly happy here."

"If I believed that, I wouldn't have you promise me that you'll come home." There was an undercurrent of longing in his voice, and Emily suddenly wondered if this concern was merely professional. "Now go, get the itch out of your blood and return ready to run."

"Would you expect anything less of me, darling?" She listened to him laugh "Have a good day, Clyde."

"And enjoy your fortnight away, Emily." They hung up and she smiled as she got out of bed and padded over to her laptop. As it booted up, she went into the kitchen and made herself a pot of coffee. The scent of it woke her up and she smiled as she poured herself a cup as soon as it was finished brewing.

Heading back over to her laptop, she called up Firefox and quickly searched for a flight from London to D.C. There was one leaving at four that afternoon, and she smiled when she saw that she would be back in the States by seven thirty that evening. Calling the airline directly, she booked a seat in first class, the last available, and then set about packing for her trip.

She didn't want to take much, since she didn't know just how long she would be spending in Virginia. And yet, she wanted to be prepared for anything, given that it was now November. Six months had passed since she had heard anything from JJ. She managed to fit enough into one carryon to last her the while and then she packed away her laptop and grabbed her cellphone as she headed out the door.

_Take care of Sergio while I'm gone, would you?_ she texted to Clyde as she waited for a taxi to drive by.

_Sure thing, Emily_ was his quick reply, and she smiled as she slipped into the back of the cab. It only took an hour to get to the airport, and then she was quickly whisked through security, even though she was on an international flight. While she waited for her flight to start boarding, she went and got lunch, eating slowly as she watched the people go by.

Finally, Emily heard her flight number being called and she drifted over to her gate, getting in line to board. When she got on, she found that she had a window seat, and she smiled a little as she sank into it, deciding to take a short nap as soon as they were in the air. After all, she remembered that Derek liked to stay up late.

The flight took off ten minutes late, and she made sure to tell the steward to wake her for the meal service before reclining her seat a little and drifting off. It seemed like no time had passed before she was being gently shaken awake, and she sat and stretched, accepting the tray from the steward's hands. "Thank you." The man nodded before moving on, and she tore into the food, finding herself famished.

It seemed like no time at all passed between the meal and their descent, and Emily felt her stomach knot up in nervous anticipation. After they had taxied to the gate, she waited for the others to file off the plane, knowing that it would take forever to get off, anyway. Finally, she stepped into the aisle, shouldered her bag, and briskly walked out into the terminal. The line for customs was quite long, and she got in line, trying not to sigh or act exasperated with her fellow travelers.

As soon as she had cleared the line, she stepped out into the cool evening air. It was easy to hail a cab, as they were all swarming around the area, looking for their next fare. "I need to head to 1976 Young Street," she said as she settled into the seat.

"That will cost you," the older man replied and she shrugged. "All right. Where you visiting from?"

"England. I'm here to see an old friend." She looked out the window at the familiar landscape, and felt a peace that had been lacking earlier settle over her heart. "You don't think it's silly that I came over on a whim? I didn't even call first."

She watched the cabbie, Harry, raise his eyebrows and smiled. "You must really love this friend of yours to do something like this. I could never be so impulsive."

Emily took another look at the man, seeing the wisdom in his eyes. "Something urged me to go, like someone was calling my name. Sometimes, you just have to take that blind leap. I just don't know if I'll get the outcome I truly desire."

"But I think that you're looking for some sort of closure, one way or the other." She was stunned by his insight, and slowly, she nodded. "I hope that you find everything that you're looking for, then, miss."

"Thanks," she murmured absently, continuing to look out the window as he drove. It didn't take long to reach her destination, and she fished out the money she owed, along with a generous tip. "Harry, keep the change,"

"Thanks, miss." He drove off into the night, and she walked up to the building, summoning up the courage to enter. It didn't take long for her to scale the stairs and she pulled out her keyring, finding Derek's amidst the others there.

As she came to a stop in front of his door, she wondered if she should knock first or use the key that she had been given. She didn't want to startle him, and yet, she wanted to surprise him, to let him know that she cared enough to drop everything and fly across an ocean to talk to him face to face once more. Her decision made, Emily inserted the key into the lock and turned it, opening the door.

The apartment was quiet, and she was surprised when Clooney didn't come up and greet her. Though the dog had been old when she left, she hadn't thought that it would be time for him to cross the Rainbow Bridge yet. Frowning a little, she crept through the darkened room, apprehension beginning to fill her bones.

And then, she heard his laugh rumble out from the bedroom and she relaxed, heading for the sound. "Derek, what are you wat…"

Emily's voice trailed off as she took in the sight before her on the bed. Derek was on top of Strauss, breathing heavily and laughing at something. Both of their bodies were slick with sweat, and he was kissing her breast, licking at the taut nipple. It seemed like they hadn't heard her, and she began to back out of the room, only to kick over a stack of books.

The noise startled both occupants of the bed and they looked up at her. "Emily!" Derek cried out as Strauss scrambled to pull the covers up to her chest. A bright blush covered her face and chest, and Emily found she counted tear her gaze away from the woman's breasts. "Give us a moment here!"

His harsh words seemed to finally penetrate the thick fog that had enveloped her brain and she nodded, turning and rushing from the room. Emily sank onto the couch, trying to comprehend what she had just seen. After five minutes of waiting, they rejoined her, and Derek sat on the far end of the couch, patting his legs. Erin curled up on his lap, resting her head against his shoulder and playing with his shirt collar. "You…could have knocked," he said lowly, never taking his eyes off Erin.

"I didn't know that I had to. I didn't know that we had any secrets from each other. Like the fact that one Erin Strauss is back from the dead and you're fucking her!" Erin flinched at the harsh words, burying her face into the fabric of his shirt. As Emily watched, her shoulders began to shake, and she knew that she had made the older woman cry.

A wave of shame and regret washed over her, and she reached her hand out, only for Derek to pull them away, as if he didn't want her to hurt Erin any more. "We're still fragile here, Prentiss. She's, we've, we've been through a lot in the last six months." His hand protectively went to Erin's stomach, and she wondered if Erin was pregnant. "No, we're still trying. Hopefully the hormones start working soon. We have a very small window of opportunity."

"Oh, I see. And you didn't think to write me?"

He looked at her sadly, his arms tightening around Erin. "You never bothered to write me, either. You went off to England, to Interpol, and never looked back. Sure, we visited you, but then you became a cipher, a ghost."

"I'm going to get a glass of water. Do any of you want anything?" Erin softly asked, pulling away from Derek, not looking at Emily.

"No, we're fine," Derek replied for her, and Erin nodded gently before scurrying off to the kitchen. "She lost her job, her lover, and her children, Emily. And then you show up and insult her. She is not some easy fuck of mine. I love her."

Emily heard a sharp gasp and they both turned to look at Erin. The glass in her hand trembled. "You love me?"

"Yeah, Erin, I do." The smile that swept across her face helped Emily to see what he saw in her and she shook her head as Erin threw herself into Derek's open arms, the glass of water sloshing all over the three of them. "I sort of fell in love with you when Hotch told us how much risk you had put yourself in, to try and protect us. And then you came back, and, well, it became easier and easier to fall deeper in love with you."

"Oh, Derek. I love you, too." She thrust the glass in Emily's direction and she took it from her hand, watching as Erin possessively kissed Derek, seeming to melt into the man. When they finally broke the kiss, Emily had tears in her eyes and she knew that the only way she could be with Derek was when pigs could fly. And that was not about to happen in their lifetime.

"So, I guess you guys will be getting married next," she shakily said, trying to smile.

"No," they both said at the same time and Erin giggled lowly.

"I didn't expect you to say no, Der."

"I don't need the vows of marriage to remain faithful to you. And I know how Alan treated your marriage and you. I want to be better than that." His words bespoke how well he knew her, and Emily felt her heart crack a little more. They both turned to look at Emily, bright smiles on their faces. "How long are you here for?"

"Um, I have a two week holiday. I suppose that I could go visit my mother…"

"No, stay with us. I'm sure the others will want to see you, too." Erin's words were soft and kind, and it shamed Emily to be on the receiving end of friendliness when she had been so unkind earlier. "We have a guest room and everything."

"I, I couldn't impose…"

"It wouldn't be an imposition, I promise," she interrupted, continuing to smile at her. "Please, stay." Erin reached out her hand to Emily, and she hesitantly clasped it, laughing a little when Erin squeezed her fingers gently.

"All right, I'll stay." Erin nodded and then cuddled in close to Derek once more. "But if I stay, I'd like to hear the story of how you got together. I'm sure that it's a wonderful story."

Derek nodded and began to rub Erin's back slowly. "I think we could handle that. But, we need to get back to bed. It's our…" His words trailed off as s blush spread over his face. Emily immediately knew what he was going to say and she nodded quickly, unable to look at them any longer. "You know where the guest room is, so, we'll see you in the morning."

"Sounds good." Emily suddenly realized how exhausted she was and she stood, picking up her bag and scurrying over to the guest bedroom, pulling out her iPod and headphones so that she could drown out any sounds the two might make during the night. It might be a long two weeks, but, as Sergio had told her, at least she would have closure.


End file.
